Look at why anti-govt postings go viral, KJ told

Lawyer-activist Art Harun says Umno Youth chief should be concerned over public’s tendency to quickly share such posts.

PETALING JAYA: Lawyer-activist Azhar Harun says Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin should ask himself why Malaysians nowadays were quick to share on social media negative comments or pictures against the government.

Azhar, better known as Art, said Khairy should know the difference between “fake news” and postings by the public which paint a negative picture of the government.

He said these days, it has become the trend to label pictures, such as the one claiming to show former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad hugging his bodyguards, as “fake news” and as “dakyah pembangkang” (the opposition’s propaganda).

“The fact is, is there any proof at all that the picture in question is part of a concerted effort by the opposition to make the government look bad?

“Is there proof that the opposition was the one which started distributing the picture followed by misinformation about what had actually happened?

“Or was it a fact that the picture was just spread around by the people on the street to each other and was later cut and pasted and resent by the people over and over again?” Art questioned in a Facebook post.

He was commenting on Khairy’s remarks that “fake news”, such as the picture purportedly showing former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad hugging two or three bodyguards from the Special Action Unit (UTK), must be condemned.

The youth and sports minister had said the picture had been taken a year ago and had nothing to do with the government’s apparent move to withdraw the former premier’s personal bodyguard service.

Art said the real question for Khairy to ponder was why Malaysians were so quick nowadays to viral such pictures which painted a bad picture of the government.

“So much so that every time there is a picture or a piece of news that is not complimentary of the government, that picture or piece of ‘news’ (whether they are true or not) quickly become viral on social media.

“Is it because the people are in love with the government and they want to show how wrong or fake the picture or news is? Or is it otherwise?

“That, dear YB, is the real question for you to ponder,” Art said.

The picture showing Mahathir hugging what looked like UTK personnel had gone viral following a Nov 1 post by the PPBM chairman on Facebook claiming that police had withdrawn his UTK personal bodyguard service.

Many quarters had criticised Putrajaya over the withdrawal of the bodyguards, especially since the government had ended the contract of Mahathir’s cook and office assistant last year.

His police outriders were also withdrawn after his privileges were revoked following his attendance at anti-government events.

The then IGP Khalid Abu Bakar had said that Mahathir would have to apply for traffic police escorts that would be approved only if he was attending an official government function.

However, current IGP Mohamad Fuzi Harun today refuted Mahathir’s claim that the government had withdrawn the former premier’s personal bodyguard service.

Fuzi was quoted by Utusan Malaysia today as saying that Mahathir, 92, still enjoyed the special right to official protection.

“It is not true at all. The personal bodyguards, comprising UTK officers, are still serving with Dr Mahathir,” he said.

“Only some ordinary members have been called back for other assignments. This is a normal procedure,” Fuzi was quoted as saying.

Mahathir, the longest-serving prime minister in Malaysia, having been in office for 22 years till 2003, quit Umno in February 2016.

He then formed PPBM in September, claiming that he wanted to “save the country” by ousting prime minister Najib Razak’s government. -FMT